Sugarloaf Valley Academy to file Charter Application

By Tammy Moore-Teague – RP Contributor
Sugarloaf Valley Academy located in Hartford, Arkansas, is intending to file an application for an open-enrollment public charter school.  There will be a public meeting Tuesday, February 27, at 7:00 pm at the Hartford School cafeteria in Hartford to provide information about the proposal and answer questions concerning the project. As this will be an open-enrollment charter school, students can enroll from any of the surrounding communities. The major unique feature of this school will be individualized learning plans for each student enrolled.
As the prospect of a public charter school is new to this area, we’ve provided a short description of this venture.
Charter schools are publicly funded institutions that operate under their own standards of conduct and curriculum outside the realm of local public school districts. Although these institutions are funded by tax dollars, charter school are ultimately given the freedom to establish their own methods of operation, similar to how many private schools are able to design their instructional and social practices.   As in all Public Schools, students are not charged tuition.
According to the National Education Association, although some state statutes, regulations and rules may still apply to charter schools, they are generally outside the bounds of traditional educational oversight by the state and instead are governed by a board of directors.
The original impetus for the creation of charter schools was to increase competition for students, thus giving parents more choices in terms of where their children go to school.
If you are interested in learning more about this project, please attend this meeting Tuesday night, February 27, beginning at 7:00 pm. We hope to see you there.